closinglogogroupfandomcom-20200216-history
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment/Summary
Background Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the DVD and Blu-ray Disc distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was first established in November 1979 by Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. as "Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment", to distribute films from Columbia Pictures on VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, and Super 8mm, with Warner Bros. titles being released by them in the latter format. It was later renamed as "RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video" (or "RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video" for international distribution, "RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video" (in conjunction with Hoyts) in Australia and "Gaumont Columbia RCA Video" (in conjunction with Gaumont) in France) in 1981 as a joint venture with RCA, "Columbia TriStar Home Video" on August 23, 1991 after acquiring RCA's shares from General Electric, "Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment" in 1999 before the name was made official in 2001, and to its current name in 2004. It is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures library for home entertainment, mainly releases from Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, but also releases product from Sony Pictures Classics, Screen Gems, Triumph Films, Destination Films, Stage 6 Films, Affirm Films, Revolution Studios, its television library, selected miscellaneous output from independent companies, and the CBS Films theatrical releases co-distributed by CBS Home Entertainment. Since June 20, 2007, SPHE now handles the former Sony BMG kids label, Sony Wonder. 'Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment' (November 1979-November 1982) Cphe78.jpg Columbiapictureshomeentmonochrome.jpg Nickname: "The Sunburst" Logo: The same as the 1975-1981 Columbia Pictures "Sunburst" theatrical logo, but there is a video freeze at the end, with "Columbia Pictures" blacked out. COLUMBIA PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS written in white, in Cooper Black font, is chyroned in below. Variants: * There is a black and white version of this logo seen on classic Columbia movies and shorts in B&W. * The closing transition will vary from video to video, with it fading to black in one version while another cuts to black. FX/SFX: Same as the "Sunburst" logo. Cheesy Factor: The freeze-frame effect looks cheesy, and the font (which looks out of place) is obviously tacked/chryoned on top of the original Sunburst logo, plastering the "Columbia Pictures" company name (which can be briefly seen if one plays the logo in slow-motion and watches carefully). Music/Sounds: Same as the theatrical version. Availability: Has rare written all over it. Amazingly, Columbia TriStar Home Video kept this logo on the 1990's VHS issues of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, It's My Turn, Cat Ballou, and The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake (making its appearances on all four after a Columbia TriStar Home Video logo), and it also made an appearance on the mid-Eighties video release of Holy Grail. You can also find this logo on the original Seventies clamshell releases of Born Free, Breakout, The New Centurions, The Deep, You Light Up My Life, and Fun with Dick and Jane (1977). Surprisingly, this logo also appeared on early-to-mid-Eighties video prints of Gerald McBoing Boing and Mr. Magoo cartoons. The black & white version appears on Gilda. Starting in late 1981, videocassettes of Columbia Pictures films go straight to the logo used at the time (a practice that lasted until 1989). There are also some sports specials and non-Columbia Pictures material that contain this logo, such as the 1982 VHS of The Batty World of Baseball. The last videocassettes to use this logo include Hanover Street (itself a Columbia film), Love and Anarchy, To Forget Venice, and the aforementioned Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Editor's Note: The "Columbia Pictures" company name can be briefly seen if one plays the logo in slow-motion and watches carefully. 'RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video' 1st Logo (June 1983-October 1987) RCA_Columbia_Pictures_Home_Video_Logo_1983_a.jpg SPHE2.jpg SPHE3.png SPHE4.png Nickname: "RCA/Columbia Box" Logo: On a black background, a white-bordered box appears. In it are two black rounded rectangles, with the first bearing the "RCA" logo in red, and the second having the 1981 Columbia Pictures print logo in a blue arch-shaped border with "Columbia Pictures" below. "HOME VIDEO" is at the bottom of the white border, in black. Variants: * Sometimes the RCA and Columbia logos flip in on a space background, then the white border "swings in" to surround it. On Beany and Cecil Volume 1, the flipping animation is different and doesn't have a space background. * There is a variant on some releases where the border is chrome and "sparkling" effects are layered on. Sometimes at the end of post-credit coming attractions, a copyright stamp would appear below it. FX/SFX: The "swinging border" on the first variation. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: Videos from this company have long been out of print, with most videos being re-released by Columbia TriStar (occasionally with the same RCA/Columbia-style packaging). All Columbia releases and the first few Tri-Star titles (such as The Natural and The Evil That Men Do) do not contain this logo, but go straight to the movie. However, the logo does appear at the beginning of non-Columbia (Tri-Star, New Line, Crown International, CineTel Films) pictures such as Real Genius, Say Yes, The King of Comedy, Private Resort, Alone in the Dark, Critters, and Rock and Roll: The Early Days. Tapes of TV series such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Rubik the Amazing Cube have this logo as well. This logo has been spotted as late as the 1987 releases of About Last Night... (1987), Blind Date, Armed Response, and My Demon Lover. Releases that had the "space" variant include Ghostbusters, Starman, and rental copies of A Passage to India to name a few. The "sparkling" variant can be seen on the post-credit coming attractions (at least twice) on Real Genius and Silverado. This supposedly debuted on a pair of Cinema 5 titles, Padre Padrone and We All Loved Each Other So Much. Oddly enough, this plasters the Columbia logo on Easy Rider and Ship of Fools. 2nd Logo (February 1986-December 18, 1991) Screen shot 2015-11-10 at 3.01.38 PM.png Nicknames: "The Cube", "The Spinning Cube", "RCA/Columbia Box II", "CGI RCA/Columbia Box", "The RCA/Columbia Cube" Logo: On a black background, we see a rotating cube, featuring the same logo as stated above on each side (either 1, 3, or 4 sides). The main difference to the logo, however, is that the border is now silvery, with "HOME VIDEO" etched in silver. A white sparkle appears on the side as it rotates. Variant: On some of the last releases to use this logo, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and early prints of City Slickers, it fades out earlier than usual. FX/SFX: The CGI rotating cube, the white sparkle. Nice effects, but pales in comparison to its international counterpart. Music/Sounds: None. Music/Sounds Variant: On No Holds Barred, the New Line Cinema logo is plastered by this logo, keeping the film's opening title music and sound effects (of a ring announcer and a cheering crowd) while this logo is playing. Strangely, this plaster was retained on a Showtime airing from December 1990 (presumably Showtime used a transfer of a video master in this case). Availability: This logo is slightly easier to come across, seeing that it is more recent. However, this logo was only used in the United States and Canada. *Again, Columbia releases went straight to the movie until 1989 (the last release to do so was Ghostbusters II). Also, from 1986-87, this logo was restricted to the trailer portion of the tapes. *Releases that had this logo include True Believer, Casualties of War, Postcards from the Edge, Glory, Pump Up the Volume, The Adventures of Milo and Otis, Far Out Man, The Blob (1988), the uncut version of 976-EVIL, The Phantom of the Opera (1989), Xtro II: The Second Encounter, Critters 2, Night of the Living Dead (1990), Relentless, Hit List, Out of the Dark, Clownhouse, Hairspray (1988), Fast Getaway, Who's Harry Crumb?, Look Who's Talking 1 & 2,The Gods Must Be Crazy II, Troop Beverly Hills, Awakenings, Willow (a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release produced by Lucasfilm Ltd.), and many, many more. *The logo appears twice on the 1990 letterbox VHS of Picnic, before and after the "Columbia Classics" promo. *Early prints of Another You have the RCA/Columbia print logo, but neither this nor the first CTHV logo are on the tape. 'RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video' 1st Logo (1982-1991?) 3928812721 1a8b70032c.jpg Screenshot 2015-11-11-09-25-52.png Screen shot 2015-11-10 at 2.44.54 PM.png SPHE5.png SPHE6.png SPHE7.png SPHE8.jpg Nickname: "RCA/Columbia Box" Logo: On a colored background, the same box from the 1st RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video logo, in 2D, fades in. "HOME VIDEO" is replaced by "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO". Sometimes, the box has a black border, other times, it doesn't have one. Variants: * On PAL tapes in Germany, the logo is against a sky blue background, after its warning screen is finished scrolling. Spanish PAL tapes have the same variant as well, but without the same warning screen. * There is a variation with a dodger blue background, at least on PAL tapes from Italy. *Some UK tapes have a variation with a crimson background, while others (including a tape of Jabberwocky) have this with a white background. * Japanese tapes would use a dark gray background. * Another variant has a redrawn (slightly uglier) box, that has "Pictures" smaller than "Columbia", a larger RCA logo and everything is on a black background. On Argentinian releases from Videomega Entertainment and LK-Tel Video, the logo would usually coast down from the center and cover the screen. * Some tapes use the 5th variant, but with a white background, and everything in the large box (Columbia print logo and text) is red and black rather than blue and white. FX/SFX: The fading in. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: Despite it being used for nearly ten years, it is extremely hard to come across in North America. However, if you have an NTSC tape from (at least) Mexico or Japan, or even a SECAM tape from France or Russia, you'll probably find this logo. It was used mainly on releases outside of North America, such as The Amazing Spider Man, The Real Ghostbusters, and Annie. Also seen on the UK rental releases of Macbeth and D.A.R.Y.L., in addition to Australian releases prior to RCA/Columbia's joint venture with Hoyts in 1983. 2nd Logo (1988?-1992) SPHE9.jpg SPHE10.jpg SPHE11.jpg Nicknames: "The International Spinning Cube", "RCA/Columbia Box II", "The RCA/Columbia Cube", "The CGI Cube" Logo: On a black background, a 3D cube comes up from the screen. It has the RCA logo in red at the top and "INTERNATIONAL VIDEO" at the bottom. Then the Columbia Pictures print logo in blue and white swoops up from the bottom. The cube spins once and settles down, facing the viewers. Variations: * On some PAL tapes, the animation takes place on a pale marble background. When the logo has finished animating, it "ripples" out and the warning scrolls up, when the ripples ended. * On releases from Contacto Video in Colombia, the RCA/Columbia logo shrinks down to the lower right of the screen. Then the Contacto Video logo animates, then it shrinks and moves to the upper-left of the screen. * On the 1990 VHS release of Radio Days, at the end, there is a flash and the logo turns into the silvery print logo, which shines. FX/SFX: The 3D cube rising, the Columbia Pictures print logo rising from the bottom. Music/Sounds: A dramatic 1980s-sounding synthesized fanfare, complete with a couple whooshes, or a generic theme. Sometimes it is silent. Availability: Rare. Like the previous logo, it was only used outside of North America, but you'll spot it if you have a NTSC tape from Mexico or Japan, or a SECAM tape. The normal variant appears on UK releases of Flatliners and Ghostbusters II, while the marble background variant appears on Hope and Glory. Editor's Note: The music hasn't really aged well, but the pretty neat CGI gives this logo an edge over its American counterpart. 'Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment' 1st Logo (December 1991-September 9, 1992, 1993, 1995) SPHE12.jpg Nicknames: "CT Boxes", "Part I: The Boxes Cometh", "Split Rectangle", "Prototype CT Boxes", "Rectangular Boxes", "Night of the Living Boxes", "Columbia Tristar" Logo: On a black background, we see a split rectangle. On the left side, we see the print version of the '80s Torch Lady (With the sunburst intact behind her), and on the right, the print version of the 1984 TriStar "Pegasus Over Pyramid" logo (Without the word "PICTURES" at the bottom). Above, we see the stacked words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" in Bank Gothic MD BT font that's a little stretched up by height, one above the other, and at the bottom, we see "HOME VIDEO" on a straight line. Variants: * On very rare occasions, the logo doesn't fade in or out. This version can be seen on later prints of Another You, a 1992 VHS reissue of Metropolitan, the Laserdisc of City of Joy, and a 1994 VHS reissue of The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head. * On Australian rental tapes with this logo, it would fade into the "COMING ATTRACTIONS" text seen in the RCA/Columbia/Hoyts logo. * On releases from LK-Tel Video, the logo would coast down from the center of the LK-Tel Video logo before sliding down. FX/SFX: None. Most of the time, the logo would fade in and fade out. Music/Sounds: None. Music/Sounds Variants: *On foreign releases, a short bass/guitar note is heard. *On one tape from Australia, the theme from the RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video logo is heard. This was seen before a "making-of" featurette of Terminator 2: Judgement Day. It is possibly seen on other non-US releases. Availability: Quite rare. *This is the very first Columbia TriStar logo to feature a box motif, which would eventually develop into the familiar and much hated Columbia TriStar Home Video and Television logos. Also, this is a placeholder logo, a logo that is used on a show or video when the new one isn't quite ready yet. *Among the releases with this logo are some prints of My Girl, Stripes, Annie, Ice Castles, Cast the First Stone (at least the screener VHS), The Taking of Beverly Hills, the 1992 reissue of The Adventures of Milo and Otis, From Here to Eternity, Men at Work, the original 1992 VHS (and a 1995 reprint) of Hook, Troll 2, Spellcaster, Boyz n the Hood, Bugsy, Relentless 2: Dead On, American Blue Note, and The Prince of Tides. *The international version is on VHS releases outside the United States and Canada, including a Spanish VHS of In the Line of Fire. *On re-releases of some RCA/Columbia videos (some in their original packaging) and most notably some early New Line releases with the RCA/Columbia print logo (such as Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare), this logo appears instead of RCA/Columbia's logo. It also plasters over the RCA/Columbia logo on a later print of City Slickers. *A few tapes with the RCA/Columbia print logo that were released in early 1992 also have this logo. Two examples of this are Another You (the first release to use this logo) and Oscar's Greatest Moments: 1971-1991 (the first tape to credit Columbia TriStar in any way on the packaging). One of the last releases to include this logo was Mississippi Masala. *Strangely this is used on a 1993 VHS reissue of of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and 1994 reissues of The Three Stooges Vol. 1: A Bird in the Head, and The Three Stooges Vol. 3: An Ache in Every Stake instead of either of its two successors. 2nd Logo (August 26, 1992-April 14, 1993, 1997, 2000) SPHE13.jpg SPHE14.png Nicknames: "CT Boxes II", "Part II: The Boxes Take Form", "The First Box Logo", "Dawn of the Boxes", "Columbia Tristar II" Logo: On a white background, we see two boxes outlined with a black border. On the left is one featuring a newly-done Torch Lady, and on the right is a newly-done Pegasus on a Columbia-like cloud background. Above the boxes are the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR", with each word positioned over its respective logo. "HOME VIDEO" is seen below. Trivia: The Columbia Torch Lady seen on the left was painted by Michael J. Deas and the TriStar Pegasus seen on the right was painted by Alan Reingold. Variants: *There is a variant where it happens to be an invert of colors. The background is black, the letters and the outlined boxes are both white, and both respective logos are a bit close up. **In 2000, this variant returned for a children's video promo on United Kingdom videotapes. This time, the text is in the Bank Gothic font and the both respective logos are brighter. The light rays shine on the logo when it fades in, before they disappear after a second. *On the Italian VHS of Hook, the logo is contained within a box. FX/SFX: The fade in and fade out of the logo. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: Again, quite rare. This is just another placeholder logo, but this time they've actually designed the new logos. If not mistaken, this may just be the first appearance of the new "Sony Logos" for each company. *Titles with this logo include The Lawnmower Man (the first tape to have it), A League of Their Own, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Finishing Touch, Where the Day Takes You, Storyville, The Finest Hour, Deep Cover, Aces: Iron Eagle III, The Player, Chrome Soldiers, Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice, Mo' Money, Mr. Saturday Night, Year of the Comet, We're Talking Serious Money, Revolver, Switched at Birth, Jersey Girl, A Midnight Clear, Single White Female, Auntie Lee's Meat Pies, The Lawnmower Man, City of Joy (VHS only; the Laserdisc uses the previous logo), Hero, Married... with Children: It's a Bundyful Life, Falling From Grace, Weekend War, the early John Wayne film Two-Fisted Law, and both the 1992 and the 1996 reissue VHS releases of The Snowman. *Sometimes tapes would have the previous logo on the box and label but this logo on the tape, such as Thunderheart. *This also made appearances on very early DVDs, such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?. *The inverted variant is extremely rare and it has been spotted on an Italian VHS of The Addams Family and the 1997 DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. *This has also been seen on some Laserdiscs, including the 1993 Criterion release of ...Holy Grail and The Wrecking Crew. *The inverted logo also appeared on a children's video promo seen on UK VHS releases from early 2000. 3rd Logo (May 19, 1993-March 27, 2001, May 21, 2002, 2004-2006) Cthv1993.jpg SPHE15.png SPHE16.png Nicknames: "CT Boxes III", "Part III: Will This Logo Ever Die?!", "Sliding Boxes", "Blue BG Boxes", "Day of the Boxes", "Columbia Tristar III" Logo: We see a screen full of clouds forming, tossing about in a time-lapse. Then, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" zooms out from above, and "HOME VIDEO" shrinks out from below as we see the clouds zoom out, as part of a golden-bordered box on a blue-black gradient background. The box then duplicates itself and the two boxes slide to the left and the right whilst the Torch Lady on the left and the Pegasus on the right (in their the same styles as before) appear in the boxes, as the wording takes its position. The text shines for a few seconds after the logo is formed. Variants: * A still logo was found on early Columbia TriStar Home Video releases on DVD. * Some New Line Home Video releases would have an abridged version. * On a home video TV spot for Amos and Andrew, it's placed on a black background alongside the 1991 New Line Home Video logo. * On the 1999 Collector's Edition VHS of Taxi Driver, the logo fades in. Trailer Variants: *On rare occasions, from 1993-96, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, the blue background fades out to the moving clouds and one of the following clip-ons would zoom in from the center of the screen: **COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU **COMING SOON TO HOME VIDEO Afterwards, a trailer pertaining to one of these two clip-ons plays. On even rarer occasions, the logo starts already formed, then the trailer variant animation plays as normal, and the other clip-on appears. *On Australian tapes, the logos and the text fades out and one of these: **COMING SOON **NOW AVAILABLE would slide in from the top and bottom respectively. FX/SFX: The zooming out effects; nice CGI for the time. Music/Sounds: A rather dramatic synth theme with a climaxing synth-piano fanfare at the end, a theme that has held up well today. Music/Sounds: *On the trailer variants, the theme would be followed by a male announcer announcing the text at the clip-on, whilst the music goes on longer than usual. **On the during-trailers version, the theme starts over, and fades out earlier than usual. *A silent version is used on later prints of the original VHS of As Good as It Gets. Availability: Very common, even today. *Seen on the majority of VHS, Laserdiscs, and DVD releases from Columbia TriStar Home Video, starting with the May 1993 home video release of A River Runs Through It. *The abridged version can be found most releases of New Line Cinema productions such as National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1, Time Runner, Surf Ninjas,'' Three of Hearts'','' Man's Best Friend'', Who's the Man?, Excessive Force, Chained Heat 2, Relentless 3, Relentless 4: Ashes to Ashes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, and the unrated version of Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday. *This also appears on later DVD reprints of titles such as The Deep, Jason and the Argonauts, Oliver!, and Muppets from Space. *Also seen on tapes released in Canada by Astral Video after the Astral logo during the mid-1990s, including Demon Possessed. *Surprisingly, on the 1997 VHS of Double Team, as well as a 1998 demo VHS of Midnight Express (after the previews) and 1999 reprints of Immortal Beloved and Fools Rush In, both this logo and the 1997 logo appeared. *This also makes an appearance on an earlier pressing of the 2002 VHS of Stuart Little (released to coincide with Stuart Little 2), which is certainly a reprint of the earlier 2000 release. *The first DVD releases to use this logo were Fools Rush In, Annie (1982), and Look Who's Talking, and the last discs to have it were Solo, Jumanji, Love Stinks, Blue Streak, To Sir, with Love, Random Hearts, and Bear in the Big Blue House: Party Time with Bear. *This logo even makes an appearance on the earliest Dragon Tales VHS releases from 2000 to 2001. *The last VHS tapes to use this logo were Charlie's Angels (2000) and The 6th Day. Editor's Note: This is a very popular logo among many, to the point where this one was used longer than any other Columbia TriStar logo, and it was criticized as a result of its longevity. 4th Logo (1995-1996) Cthvtrailer1.jpg Cthvtrailer2.jpg Nicknames: "CT Boxes IV", "Take Hollywood Home!", "Sliding Boxes II", "Land of the Boxes", "The Bedsheets", "The Boxes of Boredom Prototype", "Columbia Tristar IV" Logo: We start out against a brown fabric background. Then a square with the footage of Columbia Torch Lady from the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo in it fades in, and slides to the left, revealing a box with the footage of the TriStar Pegasus from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo (but the background is changed into a similar cloud background from the Columbia logo, but a bit shorter and darker), which slides to the right. The words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" appear above the boxes and "HOME VIDEO" on the bottom with "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company" below everything else. FX/SFX: The boxes fading in and sliding, the animations of the Columbia/TriStar logos in the boxes. Variation: On releases outside of the Columbia TriStar Family Collection, the logo is on a sky background similar to the 1995 CTT logo, and the text is blue. Music/Sounds: A singing trio (two females: one soprano & alto, and a male tenor) singing "TAKE HOLLYWOOD HOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!", or the opening theme of the trailer. Availability: Very rare. *It was used only on some tapes released by the short-lived Columbia TriStar Family Collection, such as Real Genius, Willow, Ghostbusters (only some printings, others use the 3rd logo), The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., and The Adventures of Milo and Otis. *The sky background variant is more common, but still hard to find, and can be found on a trailer for Little Women (1994) on the 1995 VHS of Persuasion and other VHS releases between 1995-97. 5th Logo (1996-1998, 2004) Cthv1996.jpg Cthv1996letterbox.jpg SPHE21.png SPHE22.png SPHE23.png Nicknames: "CT Boxes V", "Take Hollywood Home! II", "Rising Boxes", "Survival of the Boxes", "Columbia Tristar V" Logo: On a taupe brown background, we see a row of gold print logos of the Torch Lady and Pegasus in boxes at an angle. The Columbia and TriStar boxes (in their similar styles from the 4th and 5th logos, which this time, they are still and not animated), then rise out of two of the boxes in the center as the row of boxes tilts to face the screen. The 3-D words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" and "HOME VIDEO" in gold, fade in above and below the boxes, respectively with a shining wipe effect. Trailer Variants: Many times, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, and one of the following phrases, in script, would zoom in from the center of the logo: *Coming Soon to a Theater Near You *Coming Soon to Home Video *Now Available on Home Video Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. Variants: * There is a shorter version that doesn't feature a clip-on. * An extremely rare variant exists where there are blue bars featuring small CTHV print logos on both sides of the logo. This version is seen on early DVDs and widescreen edition Laserdiscs and VHS. FX/SFX: Simple but nice animation. Music/Sounds: Same as above, but the singing trio is less jolly. Music/Sounds Variants: * On some trailers like both versions of the Family Collection trailer, the exact same music from the last logos are used. * On the trailer variants of this logo, a 6-note piano jingle is added at the beginning. * The 2nd version of the Family Collection trailer has a version similar to the one mentioned above, except the piano jingle is shortened to the last 4 notes. Availability: Rare. It was used for only 2 years. Sometimes it was alternated with the 1993 blue background logo, so as always, keep your eye out. *The best source for this logo would be the company's earliest DVD releases (circa 1997-98), such as Philadelphia, Little Women (1994), Fly Away Home, and A League of Their Own. It also appeared on the VHS releases of Money Train, The Juror, Screamers, Bottle Rocket, Race the Sun, The Craft, Multiplicity, Mrs. Winterbourne, The Cable Guy (only some prints, others just used the 3rd logo), Matilda, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Fan, Fly Away Home, later copies of The Net and Magic in the Water, High School High, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Fools Rush In, and Buddy. *The shorter version appeared on Jumanji (1996) (the clip-on does appear, but both are broken up by a Sony Maximum Television commercial) and Jerry Maguire (only some prints, others used the 3rd logo instead). *The widescreen version appears on the 1998 DVD of Immortal Beloved and the letterbox Laserdisc editions of The Indian in the Cupboard, Lost in Yonkers, and The Cable Guy. This version also appears on the original 1997 DVD release of A League of Their Own, which was later reprinted for a 2004 bargain-bin reissue and a 2009 double-feature repackaging with Sleepless in Seattle (the DVD label specifies a 2004 copyright, indicating the reprint). *Strangely, no logo appears on the 1997 DVD releases of Jerry Maguire and Last Action Hero. 6th Logo (1997) SPHE24.png Nicknames: "CT Boxes VI", "Blue Print Boxes", "Diary of the Boxes", "Another 'Boxes of Boredom'", "They Seriously Used This?!: CTHV Edition", "Columbia Tristar VI" Logo: Up against a royal blue background with many print logos of CTHV on it, we see the standard C-T boxes outlined in white with the white text "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" above and "HOME VIDEO" below the logo respectively. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: Same as the 3rd logo. Availability: Extremely rare. *This was seen on the widescreen side of the first DVD releases of The Net, The Fifth Element (retained on a one-sided 2009 reprint), Johnny Mnemonic and Happy Birthday to Me. *Shortly after this, Columbia TriStar began using the 3rd logo on their DVDs starting with the late 1997 releases of Fools Rush In, Annie (1982), and Look Who's Talking. Editor's Note: This logo gained notoriety for its lack of creativity compared to the other logos. But things get better with the next few... 7th Logo (July 22, 1997-2001) SPHE25.jpg SPHE26.png SPHE27.jpg SPHE28.png SPHE29.png SPHE30.png Nicknames: "CT Boxes VII", "The Filmstrip", "The C-T Filmstrip", "Revenge of the Boxes", "Columbia Tristar VII" Logo: On an ethereal blue background, we see filmstrips crisscrossing the screen, with each frame in each filmstrip featuring the C-T box logo. We see a filmstrip in the center of the screen and then pan towards it, seeing the boxes in each frame and the endings of their respective movie animations playing out within them. As the final frame reaches the screen, the background turns white with several blue or light blue areas in each corner as the boxes (with the footage of the Torch Lady from the 1993 Columbia Pictures logo on the left and the footage of the Pegasus from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo on the right) go into position. Then the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" and HOME VIDEO" fade in above and below the boxes, respectively. Variants: * A widescreen variant exists. * On 2000s reprints of late 1990s-2000 VHS releases, "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" replaces "HOME VIDEO". * On a 1998 demo VHS of Midnight Express, the logo fades in partway through and fades out about a second after the logo finishes forming. This appears twice on the tape, bookending the opening previews. * On a promo for the 1999 Collector's Edition VHS of Silverado, the already-formed logo zooms in. Trailer Variants: Many times, the boxes would then slide away, the CTHV text would fade out, and one of the following phrases, in script, would zoom in from the center of the logo: * Coming Soon to a Theater Near You * Coming Soon to Home Video * Now Available on Home Video * Now Available Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. FX/SFX: Great CGI. And if you thought this one was good, the next one is even more mind-blowing. Music/Sounds: None, but on international releases, a generic hip hop-like jingle was used. Music/Sounds Variant: On The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo and a home video trailer for Annie (1982), the choir from the 5th logo is used. Availability: During the beginning of its existence, it was pretty easy to spot. However, around 1998, this logo was no longer used as their standard logo, only being used for clip-ons and trailers. Instead their standard logo was the 1993 logo. *Tapes with this logo include The Second Jungle Book: Mowgli and Baloo, Booty Call, The Devil's Own, the Broadway Tribute Edition VHS release of Annie, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Anaconda, Double Team, The Fifth Element, Men in Black, My Best Friend's Wedding, Buddy, Excess Baggage, Air Force One, The Assignment, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Slappy and the Stinkers, Seven Years in Tibet, Gattaca, the infamous 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, and Baby Geniuses. *It has also been seen on the UK DVD releases of Das Boot and Muppets from Space. *It also surprisingly appeared on a mid-2000s UK DVD of Ghostbusters, which must have been a reprint of an earlier DVD. *The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" version is rare and seen on post-2001 reprints of VHS tapes originally released in the late 90s-2000 such as Grey Owl. *Also spotted on the 2000 region 4 DVD release of Blue Streak (with the jingle). Editor's Note: An impressive turnaround from the previous logo, and a worthy direct successor to the 5th. Things only get better from here... 8th Logo (1999-2002; 2003, 2005) SPHE31.jpg Ctdvd.jpg SPHE33.png Nicknames: "CT Boxes VIII", "C-T DVD", "The Boxes of Splendor", "The Last of the Boxes", "Columbia Tristar VIII" Logo: On a screen filled with clouds, the words "COLUMBIA" spelling itself standard and "TRISTAR" spelling itself backwards letter-by-letter, handsomely done in shining silver text, tumble onto the screen, "COLUMBIA" coming from the upper right and "TRISTAR" coming from the lower left. The clouds clear, revealing a nice backdrop of clouds and two white, glowing boxes. As the light in the boxes die down, the Columbia Torch Lady zooms in towards us in the left box, and we see the Pegasus (in his similar style from the 1993 TriStar Pictures logo), stretch his wings in the right box, as the wings cross over to the Columbia box. The words "COLUMBIA" and "TRISTAR" later change to gold lettering and position themselves under the boxes, and "DVD" (or "HOME VIDEO" for VHS releases) zooms out from the top, at warp speed, landing below the C-T text, causing the phaser effect to appear around it, which suddenly disappears. Variants: * A version exists with "HOME VIDEO" instead of "DVD", intended for VHS releases; however, this was only seen on Blue Streak, Random Hearts, and Stuart Little. * There is another variant that has "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" in place of "HOME VIDEO". FX/SFX: Mind-blowing CGI, which has made the logo a favorite of many who've seen it. Music/Sounds: Whooshing sounds as the words, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" move into position. An ethereal humming noise as the boxes are revealed and animate. As the TriStar Pegasus unfolds and stretches his wings, we hear a low whoosh sound. Last, a phaser sound as the certain text moves into place and we hear chime sounds. Sometimes, there was a louder version. Availability: It's seen on most DVD releases of the time; prior to this, they used the 1993 logo. *Examples for this logo include Dogma and the first UK DVD release of The Karate Kid. *The logo's first appearance was on the original release of Hook, while the last releases to have it include The Wedding Planner, Snatch (retained on a 2003 reprint), The Indian in the Cupboard, Fly Away Home, the 3 Ninjas sequels, Tomcats, Saving Silverman, Joe Dirt, My Best Friend's Wedding, The Blob, A Knight's Tale, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Memento. *Strangely, this logo makes an appearance on the 2002 Deluxe Edition DVD of Men in Black. *The "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" variation can be seen only on the VHS edition of Love Stinks and the 2003 reprint of the 2000 VHS of Grey Owl. *It can also be seen on the earliest Dragon Tales DVD releases from 2000 to 2001, such as Dragon Tales: Adventures in Dragonland. *The logo was originally planned to appear on the DVD release of Spider-Man, but it instead features the next logo. Editor's Note: If this blew your mind like we said previously, wait until you see the successor to these logos below... 9th Logo (April 24, 2001-June 14, 2005) vlcsnap-2015-02-14-15h29m43s2.png|Prototype variant (full-screen) Vlcsnap-2012-12-08-01h39m30s245.png|Final variant (full-screen) CTHE_2001_widescreen_early.png|Prototype variant (widescreen) Columbia_TriStar_Home_Entertainment.png|Final variant (Widescreen) wb-WrU1B5ruLtmo9cNeHFQ321428.png|Coming Soon to Theaters #1 vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h36m39s116.png|Coming Soon to Theaters #2 Vlcsnap-2013-07-30-22h35m36s55.png|Now Playing in Theaters #1 vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h38m43s286.png|Now Playing in Theaters #2 vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h25m37s579.png|Coming Soon vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h11m11s687.png|Coming Soon to Home Video Vlcsnap-2015-06-06-21h43m27s406.png|Coming Soon to VHS & DVD #1 vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h38m55s452.png|Coming Soon to VHS & DVD #2 CTHE_2001_now_on_home_media.png|Now Available on Home Video vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h34m38s311.png|Now Available on VHS & DVD #1 CTHE 2001 Now on VHS and DVD.png|Now Available on VHS & DVD #2 CTHE 2001 clip on.png|Fullscreen version cropped to 16:9 that "hides" Home Entertainment from view. This is seen on trailers for certain movies. vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h49m15s368.png|Coming Soon to Theaters Vlcsnap-2013-07-30-22h35m55s236.png|Coming Soon to Home Video vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h46m33s187.png|Coming Soon to VHS & DVD Vlcsnap-2013-07-30-22h36m23s242.png|Now Available on Home Video vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h49m21s675.png|Now Available on DVD #1 vlcsnap-2015-06-06-10h43m32s484.png|Now Available on DVD #2 Ctheprint.jpg Nicknames: "Ultra Majestic Torch Lady-Pegasus Combo", "The Lack of Boxes", "Last of Columbia TriStar", "Columbia Tristar IX" Logo: Over the usual cloud background, we pan past an extreme close up of the Torch Lady's legs and feet (covered in the robe of course), then dissolve into a pan of the TriStar Pegasus (in the print artwork style except for the body and the legs, which are in the 1993 movie logo style, but in the same color as the Pegasus' face and wings) unfolding his wings. The pan then quickly dissolves into a shot from the center of the Pegasus unfolding his wings, albeit in a close-up fashion, and then a dissolve to the Torch Lady zooming out from her face. The logo then dissolves to reveal the Torch Lady and Pegasus side-by-side on a cloud background in their print artwork styles, with "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" slightly sliding in with "HOME ENTERTAINMENT", in a smaller font, fading in letter-by-letter. Trivia: *This is notable for being the last logo using the "Columbia TriStar" brand since Columbia TriStar (Domestic/International) Television's rebranding in 2002. *On the demo VHS of Kermit's Swamp Years, the logo was shown, but it and the Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo are broken up by a second appearance of the FBI warning (video here), perhaps due to an editing mistake. However, this was corrected on the retail version. *The 2005 release of NewsRadio: Seasons 1 & 2 originally had the CTHE logo on its packaging, but was delayed into the SPHE era, and as such the logo was changed on the packaging. Variants: * On the trailer for Little Secrets, "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" is removed. * The rest of the top parts of the logo's aspect scaling is not seen on the VHS version of the logo making the rendered footage appear a little bit tall with part of the top cropped off. It was re-adjusted for the 2nd music variant for DVDs especially for the widescreen version. *Another difference with these have different color adjustments. *The VHS version of the logo usually cuts to black at the end on U.S. titles without trailers (and on demo VHS tapes between the Hi-Fi Stereo logo and FBI Warning), even on VCDs and DVDs where this variant is used. The cut-to-black version of the first music variant occasionally pops up before the shortened widescreen trailer version of the logo on 2004-05 tapes such as The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss video The Cat's Musical Tales. In the United Kingdom, almost every VHS title has the logo fading out at the end but a few of them, such as Bear in the Big Blue House: The Summer of Love, have it cutting to black. It also appears on the retail VHS of Soul Assassin (containing previews), but it cuts directly to the Winchester Films logo before the film. *After the trailers on demo videotapes, a shortened version of the logo is played between the trailers and FBI warning. *On the first trailer of Kermit's Swamp Years, the logo is identical to the DVD variant except that the saturation matches the VHS variant and with bobbing effect from the bob de-interlacing filter. *On most Columbia TriStar DVDs from 2002-05, the logo is in warp-speed. *The print logo has the typical boxes, with "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" above and "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" below; it's all on a white background. This logo appeared on a pair of TV-DVD promos from TV releases of the era and was never used on general releases. This can also be found on certain promos of TV series by Sony Pictures Television. *On VHS releases from 2004-05, it has a shortened version of this logo with a trailer bump, but with the DVD music. Seen on Spider-Man 2, 13 Going on 30 (first printing only), White Chicks, Christmas with the Kranks, The Forgotten, Left Behind: The Movie, and Fahrenheit 9/11. *On the demo VHS of Love and a Bullet, due to a processing error after the HiFi Stereo logo, the beginning of the logo where the first notes and the clicking sound heard are edited out. *There is a 2.35:1 scope version. This appears on the 2001 UK DVD release of Dirty Dancing, with the VHS music, and on a red band home video trailer for The Crimson Rivers, with the trailer's own audio. *On some VCDs, a 16:9 version is used, with the VHS music. *On a home video trailer for Following found on the 2001 DVD release of Memento, the logo fades in already formed, with the light emanating from the Torch Lady's torch as the only animation. Trailer Variants: Rarely, letters would appear on top of the screen, and it, in regular font, with an announcer (Eric Gordon), would state the following (on VHS promos, half of the logo is playing in widescreen and the words are on the wide boxes): * Now Playing In Theaters * Coming Soon To Theaters * Now Available on VHS and DVD * Coming Soon To VHS and DVD * Now Available * Coming Soon to Home Video * Now Available on Home Video * Coming Soon to DVD * Now Available on DVD Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. International Trailer Variants: On early Australian releases the logo plays normally and in the top right of the screen letters appear spelling "COMING SOON". So far this has only been spotted on a 2001 Aussie VHS release of Charlie's Angels. FX/SFX: Of course, what's mentioned in the description doesn't cover the entire logo. Throughout the animation, the logos are artistically stylized, with mosaic and pixelization effects being used through the logo and a scrolling Matrix-like wall of typography appearing throughout. Also, the designers of the logo, Montgomery/Cobb, retouched the face of the Torch Lady and the wings of the Pegasus to make them look more realistic. The dissolves are done gradually, almost like wipes, and the logo seems to be divided up into five sections during the animation, before coming together as an actual logo at the end. The logo looks quite nice and artistic as a result. Music/Sounds: There were two different jingles: *VHS (and early VCDs/DVDs): Composed by Machine Head of Venice, California, a wonderful synthesized fanfare that is very majestic, fitting the majestic feel of the logo. Also, it would be interesting to note that the logo was considered one of the longest, clocking in at nearly 20 seconds, until others such as Hendring Limited, Photo-Video, The ABM Group, and Hammer Video Home were discovered. *DVD (and later international VHS): An acoustic guitar tune combined with bells, strings, and a small chorus. Music/Sounds Variants: *On the VHS trailer version of this logo, the clicking noise heard at the beginning of the regular VHS version of the logo is absent. *On Kermit's Swamp Years, the audio is synced within the 2001 Jim Henson Home Entertainment logo which extends the audio with the sped up track of the Jim Henson Interactive logo to perform the complete jingle. In order for this to occur, this logo goes right into the Henson logo. Bear in the Big Blue House Live has the jingles separated, which allows the Jim Henson logo to start its jingle after the logo dissolves. *On trailers featuring this logo, the trailer music plays over the logo. Music/Sounds Trivia: The Maroon 5 track "Must Get Out" features a similar ending to the VHS theme, but played with different instruments. Availability: Common on VHS, VCD, and DVD releases from the era. Some of them are still in print. *The first VHS to contain the logo was Finding Forrester. Other tapes that have it include numerous Berenstain Bears and Dragon Tales releases from the time, Underworld, Hellboy, Mr. Deeds, the first two Spider-Man movies, Radio, and pre-SPHE season sets of The King of Queens, Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Good Times, and Seinfeld, among others. *Tapes featuring this logo without the clip-on at the top include Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Fun to Learn and Jay Jay the Jet Plane: New Friends, New Discoveries, along with some prints of The Animal, Not Another Teen Movie, Black Hawk Down, and Daddy Day Care. *The VHS theme was for the most part exclusive to its format, but has been spotted on the R1 DVD of the Jeffrey Blitz documentary Spellbound. It is also seen on the Region 2 DVDs of Charlie's Angels (2000) and a 2004 printing of S.W.A.T (2003). A widescreen version has also been spotted on the R4 DVD release of Born Free & Living Free. *Conversely, the DVD theme has made an appearance at the end of the VHS of Jay Jay the Jet Plane: Soaring Sky High (among other titles); the complete second music variant with the jingles synced only appears at the start of Kermit's Swamp Years. *On DVDs released prior to 2002, the 8th logo was used. *Strangely, this logo was not seen on the 2001 VHS releases (containing trailers) of The Animal and A Knight's Tale; it just goes straight to their widescreen "Coming Soon to Home Video" bumper. *Some of the last titles to use this include Leon: The Professional: Deluxe Edition and Seinfeld: Season 4, and it may have last appeared on NewsRadio: Seasons 1 & 2 (see "Trivia" for more). Editor's Note: It's a popular logo now that the widely hated "Split Boxes" have been put to rest. A nice fanfare and great logo concept makes this logo a winner. 'Sony Pictures Home Entertainment' (March 22, 2005- ) Sonypictureshomenet.jpg SPHE36.png SPHE37.png SPHE38.png Nicknames: "The Shining Bars", "Ultra Majestic Sony Pictures Bars", "SPE Bars", "Sony Bars", "The Sony Parallelogram", "Lightbeam in Parallelogram", "Lightbeam in Striped Parallelogram" Logo: Over a set of purple clouds, we see a bright light with rays shooting outward which start to create some lens flares. A set of white lines of light appear and zoom out to solidify into the Shining Bars, Sony Pictures Entertainment's logo, which give off rays of light. As this happens, the background turns black. The rays die down and we see "SONY PICTURES" in the Sony font appear below the Bars, a line is drawn underneath that, and "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" appears underneath. Trailer Variants: On 2005-06 VHS releases by SPHE, one of the following clip-ons would appear early in the animation: * Coming Soon to Theaters * Now Playing in Theaters * Coming Soon to DVD and Video * Now Available on DVD and Video Afterwards, a trailer with one of the following features would be played. Variants: *On Blu-ray Discs since June 20, 2006, as well as a few DVDs since December 26, 2005, the logo is much more contrasted. *On the Classic Comedy TV (Urban)/Classic Urban TV preview found on Sanford and Son: The Sixth Season and Soap: The Complete Fourth Season, a still of the logo blinks several times in tune with the trailer's rap beat. *On a trailer for Ringers: Lord of the Fans found on disc 2 of An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder, after the complete logo plays, it quickly fades into footage from the film. FX/SFX: Just great CGI; much better animation than its TV counterpart. Music/Sounds: Two timpani drumbeats, followed by an uplifting-sounding horn/string arrangement. Music/Sounds Variants: *Sometimes, the theme plays in either low or high tone. *Sometimes, the theme is off-sync with the logo. *On the double feature set of Annie/''Annie: A Royal Adventure'', disc 1 (Annie) has the music from the 3rd CTHV logo. That disc is likely a modified reprint of the original 1997 flipper DVD that has both widescreen and fullscreen versions, which may explain this plaster oddity. *On the trailer for Ringers: Lord of the Fans, instead of the music, we hear people talking over the logo. *On the VHS trailer variant, a male voiceover says the clip-on. Availability: Common. Can be found on all videos released by the company from 2005 onward. *The print SPHE logo goes back to November 2004, and those early SPHE releases (including reprints) still have either the 1993 CTHV logo, or the 2001 CTHE logo. The animated SPHE logo made its debut on the PSP UMD of Spider-Man 2 in the spring of 2005. The first DVD to have this logo was Are We There Yet?, released on May 24, 2005. *The trailer variants can be considered very rare, as this logo debuted shortly before VHS was discontinued, but they can be seen on SPHE tapes such as Guess Who, Zathura, Into the Blue, Bewitched, Layer Cake, The Amityville Horror (2005), Stealth, The Marksman, Are We There Yet?, Hitch, Lords of Dogtown, The Fog (Widescreen Unrated version), Boogeyman, The Gospel, Man of the House, xXx: State of the Union, The Legend of Zorro, Madison, Subemerged, Man of the House and The Berenstain Bears VHS releases from 2005-2006, and made their final appearance on Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild. *Strangely, this logo appeared on TV airings of Open Season 2 and Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild, among other direct-to-DVD films. *Don't expect this on the 2017 DVD releases of Morgan Creek films, strangely. Category:Sony Corporation Category:Home Entertainment Category:United States Category:Closing Logos Group Wikia Category:Sony Pictures Entertainment Category:Columbia Pictures